Distributor of European cinema Film Europe is moving the seventh edition of its showcase of festival films Be2Can (see the news) into the virtual space. The company will be utilising its very own VoD platform, Edisonline (see the news), an online festival film library, which was launched in April, to host a slew of flicks acquired from the big three, Berlin, Venice and Cannes. Ivan Hronec, Film Europe’s founder and CEO, told Cineuropa that Be2Can was originally conceived as a hybrid showcase (see the news). “Be2Can films have been offered simultaneously in theatres, on VoD and on television,” and the latest addition is “the virtual theatre”, where the titles from this year’s line-up will be streamed.

The opening film of this year’s edition is Thomas Vinterberg’s latest, Another Round [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], which will be shown as a domestic premiere. A double bill will be screened on each day of the Be2Can festival, including the latest instalment in Roy Andersson’s “living tetralogy”, About Endlessness [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Roy Andersson
scheda film], which will be paired with the director’s previous dramedy, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Roy Andersson
scheda film]. The Golden Bear-winning Iranian-Czech-German portmanteau film There Is No Evil [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Mohammad Rasoulof will screen alongside another Golden Bear laureate, Taxi Tehran by Jafar Panahi, Safy Nebbou’s Who You Think I Am [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Juliette Binoche
scheda film] is coupled with Hirokazu Koreeda’s The Truth [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Hirokazu Kore-eda
scheda film], and Gaspar Noé’s psychedelic mockumentary Lux Æterna has been paired with Jean-Luc Godard’s The Image Book [+leggi anche:
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scheda film].

Hronec told Cineuropa that the concept of Be2Can is part of a new model of distribution. “A new film will be screened in the virtual theatre – for example, Another Round. Its twin The Commune [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Thomas Vinterberg
scheda film] will be available in the virtual theatre but also on SVoD via Edisonline, and other Vinterberg films like The Celebration will be rotating on Film Europe’s TV channel. It’s not solely a day-and-date release, but a hybrid cross-promotion of a single programming idea on all platforms,” reveals Film Europe’s CEO. The virtual Be2Can festival will be available in Slovakia, and Film Europe’s SVoD is also operated in the Benelux. Furthermore, Hronec confirmed that the team is currently contemplating expanding the Film Europe Channel to Southern Europe.

Be2Can runs from 23-29 November, and the full line-up is available here.